Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Edwardian half-mourning dress pics


I knew I would be incredibly busy at the DFWCG's Mourning Tea, so I stopped by a beautifully restored Victorian chapel and cemetery near my home so I could take a few pictures of my new half-mourning dress before the party. I was running short on time and never made it down to the cemetery itself, but I did get some pretty shots outside of the chapel. Here are some of my favorites, and there are a more on flickr.  I'm also having fun turning these into faux-autochromes and Longchamps-style photos, so I'll probably keep coming back and replacing these as I have time.

I'll start by reposting my original inspiration from a 1908 edition of La Mode Pratique, followed by two photo where I tried to copy the poses shown in the illustration. I didn't intend to copy every last detail of this dress, but I think I managed to capture the over-all feel of the fashion plate pretty well, which was my main goal for this project.  Out of all the things that I create, nothing beats the satisfaction of recreating an outfit from a work of art.  There's just something magical about seeing an artist's depiction of fashion once again turn into a living, breathing, moving thing.  











Thanks for following along with my little mini-diary about this dress, and if you missed the earlier entries, you can go back to read about the corsetskirt/blousejacket, and hat.  


37 comments:

Samantha said...

Guh, everything about this is perfect!! The silhouette, the hair, everything! Love it so much!

Unknown said...

I love everything about this. Lovely how you swirled the skirt in that first picture.

Jenny Wren said...

Where did you get those beautiful gloves?

Jen Thompson said...

Hi Jenny - my aunt gave me those gloves. I think she found them at an estate sale. They are not that old, but the length is perfect for something like this.

Anonymous said...

OMG look at you! It's divine. Wonderful workmanship, you've captured the essence of the illustration perfectly and you look amazing! What an inspiration!

Emileigh said...

SO BEAUTIFUL! I'm so amazed! I've simply got to find an event to dress like this for someday. It's just too elegant to miss out on.

Miss Brilliantine said...

Perfection.

Anonymous said...

That's beautiful! It turned out really nicely and definitely captures the essence of the illustration. I was going to say I adore the hat (which I do), but the whole outfit is equally wonderful.

Eva said...

You are so gorgeous that I lack words!

/Eva

Evie said...

GAH! I want it! So gorgeous!

Kleidung um 1800 said...

Perfection! The hat, the hair and the whole ensemble - it was a great pleasure to read through all the posts of this project, and even greater to see everything together in the last post! Thank you for sharing :)
Sabine

Kendra said...

I have not only gotten off my mobile to tell you this, but as Blogger just ate my last post, I am even going to the lengths of typing it out again, just so I can tell you HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS OUTFIT. THE HAT. THE HAIR. THE FABRICS. THE CUT. It is TRULY STUNNING.

I am SO in love with the ginormous Merry Widow hat. You are making me want to make some more of the costumes from Wings of the Dove!

fixitfaerie said...

You look gorgeous in your outfit. The pictures pick up the details in each piece, the lace in the blouse, the hand work on the jacket, your skirt (and we know how the undies are done too). Your hat is amazing. Just love it all. Beautiful work.

Nessa said...

Even though this maybe be repetitive, I simply have to say again what everybody else has already said: It's so perfect an inspiring. :) You have a great eye for detail to make it that way. I especially love the lace bits on the shirtwaist. And the fabric of your skirt just gave me a much-needed idea for my Edwardian Christmas outfit. Thank your for sharing these great pictures. :)

Little Mothball said...

Gorgeous! The lines or your garments are so classic and true to the era. Great work.

The Laced Angel said...

Whoa, you NAILED the silhouette! It's beautiful.

Anonymous said...

This is such a fantastic ensemble! The clothing is beautiful, and the accessories wonderfully chosen.

Caroline said...

You look wonderful! What a gorgeous silhouette. Oh, and that hat!

Time Traveling in Costume said...

Bravo, Jen! You made an amazing copy of this dress, which was on my wish list. I couldn't come close to this.
Val

Anne Elizabeth said...

Well-made outfit, and great poses! I love the skirt shape of that period so much.

Eleonora Amalia said...

This is perfection! I'm in love with this outfit.

Unknown said...

You look magnificent. Great workmanship and lovely, lovely images.

LydiaO said...

OMG Jen, you nailed it with this one! I just saw the Edwardian figure come to life and it is awesome! You look beautiful. Bravo!

Unknown said...

Great job on the entire ensemble! You look amazing! If you haven't bought these books yet, I highly recommend them to pursue more outfits like yours. The Edwardian Modiste by Francis Grimble, it had 85 patterns by season with proper fabric descriptions, and the entire cutting system in the back of the book. Also a good section on finishing techniques. Another book by the same author is called Bustle Fashions, it doesn't have as many patterns but almost half the book is focused on finishing and trimming. As soon as I got these books, I was enamored and I think you would be as well. Happy sewing!

Unknown said...

Jen, I'm speechless! These pictures are absolutely amazing! They look so authentic, what beautiful garments!

Anonymous said...

Amazing! You look fabulous.

Mrs. Yeater said...

So charming!

Anneliese said...

Absolutely positively FABULOUS!! Thank you for inspiring us all, Anneliese :)

Cathy Raymond said...

It's an impressive recreation; thanks for sharing it with all of us.

Black Tulip said...

Wow! Just amazing.

Gina said...

I can honestly say that I have never seen a fashion plate come to life quite a perfectly as you have done here!! Holy Monkey. I can't get over how exact everything is!! I am so jealous and in love with this whole ensemble! I wish I could have seen it in person!! Your hat is seriously epic as well...too fun!!!
Blessings!
Gina

Rhia said...

I absolutely adore this outfit. It's from one of my favourite eras. Just perfect in every way. And I love the fact that you used that particular fabric for the skirt.
But then again, you make everything come to life so perfectly. That's why I like your blog so much, you don't concentrate on just one period of time.

vintagevisions27 said...

The whole outfit is beautiful! Lovely job as always. I missed a few of your earlier posts so I'm going to check those out now. :)
-Emily

Maggie said...

You look stunning! The outfit is beautiful and really flattering to your figure. The photos came out awesome too!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely gorgeous. You really do look amazing. Love the outfit.

stopmejohn said...

please shoe the pattern for this skirt cannot find anywhere

Unknown said...

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